Diesen Salat entdeckte ich bei lamiacucina. Die Tischgenossen waren dermassen begeistert, dass es ihn gleich an zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Abenden gab – auch wenn die zähen Tomaten meinen altersschwachen Mixer an seine Grenzen brachten. Hier das leicht modifizierte Rezept:

Zutaten:
• 250 g Farfalle
• 4 EL Olivenöl
• 60 g eingelegte getrocknete Tomaten
• 1.5 EL Weissweinessig
• 1 Knoblauchzehe, fein gehackt
• 125 g gewürfelter Mozzarella
• 60 g schwarze Oliven, in Ringe geschnitten
• 1 kleines Bund Basilikum, in Streifen geschnitten
• 1 Handvoll halbierte Kirschtomaten

Olivenöl, getrocknete Tomaten, Essig und Knoblauch im Mixer zu einer glatten Paste verarbeiten.

Nudeln kochen, abgiessen und Tomatenpaste unterheben. Auf Zimmertemperatur abkühlen lassen.

Oliven, Mozzarella, Kirschtomaten und Basilikum unterheben, evtl. mit Salz und Pfeffer nachwürzen.

Frau Kaltmamsell empfiehlt Breite Bohnen mit Kartoffeln als Highlight der zentralspanischen Küche. Die gab es gestern abend bei uns, und was soll ich sagen – das Gericht ist wirklich ein Gedicht, und dazu noch super einfach. Doch kein Rezept ist so einfach als dass man nicht doch ein paar kleine Modifikationen vornehmen könnte: Leider gab es bei uns auf dem Markt keine breiten Bohnen, aber normale grüne waren hoffentlich ein adäquater Ersatz. Ausserdem haben wir Feta daruebergekrümelt, und statt mit Essig mit ein bisschen Zitronensaft nachgewürzt. Das Essen gibt es definitiv in den nächsten Tagen nochmal – bis dahin mache ich mich auf die Suche nach richtigen breiten Bohnen.

Zutaten:

• 750 g Kartoffeln
• 750 g grüne Bohnen
• 6 Zehen Knoblauch
• Olivenöl, Salz. Pfeffer

optional:

• Feta, Zitronensaft

Bohnen putzen, waschen, in kleine Stücke (bei mir waren es 3-4 cm) schneiden. Kartoffeln schälen und in nicht zu kleine Stücke schneiden.

Kartoffeln mit reichlich Wasser bedecken (es muss auch noch Platz für die Bohnen sein), mit 2 TL Salz zum Kochen bringen. Bohnen zufügen und wieder zum Kochen bringen. 15 Minuten köcheln, dann abgiessen.

Knoblauch hacken und in reichlich Olivenöl hellbraun braten. Gemüse darin schwenken.

Eventuell nachsalzen und servieren. Nach Geschmack mit Pfeffer, Zitronensaft und noch mehr Olivenöl verfeinern und Feta darüberkrümeln.

i always get a bit confused by the many variants of indian bread. chapati, puri, nan, roti,… i’m making this version  for a while now, and i think it is close to chapati (but the dough was originally for the paratha in jaffreys book)

ingredients:

• 100g flour (type 405)
• 100 g flour (type 1050)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp ghee, melted
• 75 – 100 ml water

mix flour and salt, add ghee, then water (by the tablespoon) until the dough comes together, knead for 5-10 minutes, chill in the fridge for an hour.

cut the dough in six pieces, and roll them out – VERY thin. cook in a dry pan from both sides.

red lentils are great if there is not much time to cook – they need only about 15 minutes until tender.

ingredients:

• 1 tbsp ghee (or butter oil)
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 pieces of celery stalks
• 2 carrots
• 200 g red lentils
• 1/4 tsp chili flakes
• 1 l vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• salt, black pepper

cut up celery stalks and carrots into small pieces. seperate green and white of green onions and chop.

in a large pan, heat ghee. add garlic and the white of green onions, cook for two minutes. add carrots and celery, cook for another two minutes. add red lentils, cook fon one minute, stirring frequently. add  chili flakes and vegetable stock and let it simmer until the lentils are done (15-20 minutes). right before the end of cooking time, add chopped green parts of the green onions (keep a bit for decoration). season the soup with lemon juice, soy sauce, black pepper and salt.

ingredients:

• 500g green asparagus
• 1 tbsp butter oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 3 tbsp grated parmesan

trim asparagus, heat butter oil in a large pan. cook asparagus until tender. when it is almost done, sprinkle with lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper. transfer to a plate, sprinkle with pine nuts and parmesan.

a few dashes of pumpkin seed oil will make it even better.

and since it is so quick, easy and tasty, i’m submitting it to cucina rapida.

i like parsley, but i am not a big fan of parsley dominating an entire dish. therefore i was a bit reluctant about the chimmichurri sauce as a dip for the empanadas and made it primarily because i thought it would look nice, together with the tomato dip i was planning to make. (shifting of priorities, eh?)
and what happened? it looked very nice indeed, and nobody took a picture. but fortunately it was delicous, too.

ingredients:

• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 clove or garlic
• 6 leaves of basil
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 tbsp olive oil (add more if needed)
• 1/2 red chili, chopped (but it was not very hot)
• salt and pepper to taste

combine all ingredients in the blender, mix until the sauce is smooth.  chill in the fridge until ready to use (should be used the same day).

spring has come and so it’s time for chive again. at home in my parent’s garden we used to check everyday, starting mid march, on the progress the young chive made. and when it was finally long enough to be cut my father made fresh kräuterquark with chive and onions. delicious.

i don’t have a garden but the store-bought stuff will do.

ingredients:

• 250 g quark (10% fat)
• 50 ml milk
• half a bunch of chives
• half an onion
• 6 radish
• 1/4 tsp salt, black pepper

dice onion and radish, cut up the chive into small rolls. put in a bowl, then add quark and stir until well combined. add milk by the tablespoon until desired creaminess is reached ( i like it rather thin as you can see in the pic). season with salt and black pepper.

the quark is also very nice with fresh potatoes (boiled in their skins) and linseed oil or pumpkin seed oil.

there is nothing in the fridge except an aging zucchini, half an onion and a bit of leftover heavy cream? oh, and in the freezer are still some peas. dinner is saved:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp sun flower oil
• half an onion (or more)
• one zucchini
• 150g  frozen green peas
• 100ml vegetable stock
• 100 ml heavy cream
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• salt,  freshly ground black pepper
• 200g pasta of your choice

sauté the diced onion in a pan with sun flower oil, add diced zucchini and cook for a few minutes. add peas, stir a few times, then add vegetable stock. let it simmer until the peas are done. add heavy cream and let it simmer again for 2-3 minutes. season with lemon juice, salt and black pepper. meanwhile cook the pasta, strain and mix with the sauce.  quick and easy and quite good.

we do eat muesli a lot, almost every morning. still i had never thought about making it on my own until i stumbled upon the toasted nutty cranberry granola from shutterbean. it’s very easy to make and the crunchy flakes are great. i will need to tweak it a bit though  as i find it a tad salty, also the nuts may need a bit more toasting. looks like a second batch tonight…

i don’t remember where i first read about this idea – but it’s really a great one. those two flavours go together very well and make for a refreshing and light desert. plus it takes only minutes to prepare it: cut a pineapple in bite-sized pieces. chop the leafes of 4-5 twigs of peppermint and pestle with 1-2 tbsp sugar. this becomes peppermint pesto, and it’s used to marinate the pineapple in it. the marinated pineapple can be enjoyed as it is or served with plain yoghurt.